The field experiences courses are rich, professional opportunities for you to integrate and apply knowledge and skills in settings specific to your field. You will take courses concurrently with your field experience. In the field, you will adhere to the professional organizations’ codes of ethics for practicing within your respective scope of practice under the supervision of a university faculty member and a qualified site supervisor. Early in your programs of study, we begin encouraging you to establish a field site in your area aligned with your professional goals.

Field experience courses are 15-week semesters, if taken in Fall or Spring and 10-week semesters if taken in Summer.

Requirements by program:

School Counseling – requires one Practicum CNDV 5390 and one Internship CNDV 5394.

Marriage, Couples and Family Counseling – requires one Practicum CNDV 5393 and two Internship courses CNDV 5394x2. If pursuing LMFT licensure, it must be completed at a site that serves families and/or couples.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling – requires one Practicum CNDV 5392 and two Internship courses CNDV 5394x2.

Practicum requirements include:

• Fourty hours of direct service and 60 indirect hours, with which contributes to the development of counseling skills
• Passing of one formal observation overseen by a university field supervisor as part of practicum requirements
• Weekly interaction that averages one hour per week of individual site supervision throughout the field experience
• Weekly university group supervision for an minimum of one hour in length

Internship requirements include:

• One hundred and twenty hours of direct service and 180 indirect hours, with in-depth quality and counseling interactions
• Passing of two formal observations overseen by a university field supervisor and passing of the pre-test as part of internship requirements
• Weekly interaction that averages one hour per week of individual and/or triadic supervision throughout the field experience
• Weekly university group supervision for a minimum of one hour in length

Students in the Professional School Counseling Program, who hold two years of certified teaching experience and who reside in Texas, must complete practicum and internship at a Texas Education Agency approved site with a qualified site supervisor, who holds certification in school counseling with over three years professional experience.